Luke gritted his teeth, his heart pounding yet still holding his breath as the final shell crashed into the tower.
"Damn it," he hissed as the tower remained tall before glancing over to Victoria with narrowed eyes.
"This could have been easier if you just went with my plan, but nooooo, you just had to charge in like some maniac with a death wish!" he shouted with a huff.
"I swear sometimes I feel like I'm the only one here with any actual sense," he muttered with the shake of his head. Luke was still pretty upset with Victoria for charging in like she did, but it was less of messing up his plan and more for putting herself in danger like that. He wouldn't admit it allowed, but she was really the only person of the team he really trusted. Maybe it was the mother act she was putting up, but he truly didn't want to see her dead for some dumb mistake in battle.
"Fuck just fall already you-" he paused as the earth below them began to rumble and felt his eyes widen in silent awe as the tower began to crumble. As the stone crashed against the earth Luke couldn't help but grin in joy before looking over to Victoria.
"It fell!" he shouted before letting out a cackle and whooping in victory.
"Yeah, that's right you bastard! Don't mess with the Federation!" he barked before letting out another laugh and scooping up his rifle. He watched as the tower finally crumbled to the earth for good before lapping Victoria on the shoulder with a proud smile.
"Looks like my planned worked. You're welcome," he chuckled with a cocky look.
Victoria whistled through her teeth as the field gun bucked and roared, watching the shell arc towards the tower and colliding with the ornate symbol of peace on earth or love to all mankind or some other tenet she had never paid much attention to. She spat on the ground dismissively at the explosion, the only effects visible some dislodged plaster and a tremendous boom.
"Worthless fucking thing!" She muttered, grunting as she muscled the artillery piece into a better potion as Luke scrounged for more shells.
"I was going with your plan shit for brains!" The Oceanic shot back.
"Only I wasn't going to arse about and discuss how far my thumb was up my ass with the Francian while a man bleeds out! You take too fucking long!" Luke was in no place to talk about stupid mistakes, Vicky letting out a harsh laugh at his claim of being the sensible one.
"Just focus on dropping the tower and crushing the Imperial bastard under it." As if in response to her words the structure began to buckle under it's own weight, structural integrity giving way to the catastrophic damage they mad managed to do.
"Eat shit you fucking cunt!" Victoria screamed, the foul mouthed young woman crowed as she watched the tower reduce itself to rubble.
"Federation had fuck all to do with it, this one was on us." She corrected Luke with a smirk, adjusting her hat and topping off her rifle with a fresh clip.
"Yeah you're a real tactical genius you dense piece of shit." The adoptive mother gave her son a friendly punch in the back, checking her bayonet.
"Ready to confirm a kill?"A large grin remained on Luke's face, even after all of Victoria's shit talking. With a chuckle he wiped away some of the blood from the cut on his head before looking over to Victoria as she insisted the Federation had nothing to do with their small victory.
"Whatever you say," he said before stumbling forward from Victoria's punch to his back. Another chuckle escaped him as she called him a tactical genius.
"Better believe it, at this rate I'll be leading the whole Federation army," he declared with confidence as he checked his rifle. Luke frowned slightly as he saw a few scratches on it, but glanced over to Victoria with a smirk as she suggested going to confirm their kill.
"Sounds good to me," he said with a toothy grin. Before they began to head towards the collapsed tower Luke turned towards Jean and the Injured Thomas.
"We're gonna make sure the fuckers dead, take care of him!" he shouted as he tapped on Victoria's shoulder and nodded towards the tower before moving forward.
"Let's go get our prize," he muttered with a dark and hungry smile. It may have been a bad idea, but Luke wasted no time moving towards the collapsed tower, jogging forward with his rifle at the ready. Assuming Victoria was close behind him Luke gave a chuckle.
"Just imagine the praise we'll get for taking out this guy, we might even get pushed up a rank," he laughed before slowing down as they neared the building.
"If only this guy was Green Fox, but his aim was to shit. If we had him we could be looking at more than a promotion," he said before he reached the front door. Silently he looked to Victoria and signaled her to get ready to breach the door. Slowly he peered through the shattered window and scanned for any life. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Don't see anyone, get ready to go in. This time stick to the plan, we go in slow and keep our eyes open," he said before rolling his shoulders with a small sigh.
"On your go."Vicky let Luke preen and brag for the time being, not especially compelled to crush his pride at the moment. If he got to big for his boots that would come later but they had bigger issues to worry about. When she said confirm the kill she hadn't been referring to digging a corpse from the ruins. The sniper must have known that the tower was exposed to enemy fire, right? They would've had to have been a complete imbecile to not have some sort of quick escape route. A ladder, a rope hanging out the back, a pile of blankets to soften their fall if they jumped. Hell even if they didn't there was no guarantee that they hadn't just gotten luck and managed to survive the fall without being brained by a beam from the roof. There was no guarantee that they were even injured. Luke's grin was met with a quick nod from his sister in arms, Victoria following his gaze towards Jean and...
Marathon.
She wished she could do something to help him, wished she knew anything about injuries or medicine. Some way to ease the pain or stop the bleeding, something constructive for once instead of just bludgeoning another problem to death. Just once she wanted to repair something, to improve someone's life! But she couldn't, forced to settle for leaving Thomas to bleed to death in a filthy dust coated gutter while she sought revenge. It hurt Vicky deeply, a stabbing sensation burning a hole in her gut that made her want to sob. So she ignored it, hardening her heart and slipping back into the increasingly comfortable persona of the Rat so she could drown her guilt in blood. She stayed a couple of paces behind Luke, rifle at the ready as her comrade babbled incessantly about nonsense. Some no name sniper wasn't worth a promotion, maybe a congratulatory pat on the back at best.
"His aim was good enough to take out the only member of our squad who matters." She grunted darkly.
"If Thomas dies moral is going to collapse." She was certainly going to collapse, fall into a dark pit and emerge changed for the worse. She could see the storm-clouds on the horizon and all she could do was ignore them and take her position at the side of the door. A deep breath, a readjustment of the carbine in her arms, and then a swift kick to the door, the Rat pushing into a new burrow.
Luke winced as she mentioned losing Thomas, having briefly forgotten how serious his injuries were. It wasn't as if he didn't care, but the rush of their small victory clouded his thoughts.
"Sorry, didn't mean it like that. I'm sure he'll pull through, he hasn't made his name out of nothing," he assured her with a confident smile before raising his rifle at the ready. Finally Victoria kicked in the door and rushed in with Luke close behind.
"On your left," he muttered before drifting to the left of her, his rifle carefully scanning their area. With a quick breath through his nose and his heart racing Luke tapped her shoulder before moving forward.
"Watch yourself, the fucker could still be kicking," Luke stated before lettings his eyes scan the building, his eyes flicking over to the ruined tower that was once connected to it. It looked like an old church. It could have been a nice place before all of this, but now the walls were filled with holes, the floor decaying or splintered. Everything around them was scarred by their war.
Silently Luke switched over to Victoria's right side and got a good look at what remained of the tower.
"Wait," Luke halted her by placing a hand on her chest, at first not realizing his invasion of personal space, though silently approving of what he felt.
"Look," he whispered before pointing to a small puddle of crimson blood near the rubble of the tower. Slowly he approached the puddle and knelt down to get a better look.
"He must have slipped out somewhere, sneaky prick," he muttered before dipping his finger into the blood and rubbing it against his fingers.
"He couldn't have gotten far, let's-" before he could finish two loud cracks filled the church and two rounds punched into the wall near them.
"Get down!" Luke barked before wrapping his arm around Victoria's waist and diving behind some rubble, just in time to avoid a few more rounds that were determined to land their mark. As Luke scrambled to his knee Luke heard a few softened curses before peeking out of cover.
"I can't see the bastard, can you?"Vicky's knuckles were white from how tight she was squeezing the barrel of her gun , watching Luke cautiously. The boy wasn't known for thinking about his words before he said them and she wasn't sure she would be able to keep herself from rabbit-punching him if he wasn't careful. Thankfully for both of them he managed to figure out a suitable recovery, the Oceanic nodding hesitantly at his optimistic words. She didn't know whether or not he actually believed it or if he was merely attempting to comfort her but it didn't bother much either way. Whether Thomas lived or died was now entirely out of their hands. They would have to focus on keeping themselves alive. Her boots crunched bits of wood and the skeletons of rodents underfoot as she stormed into the church, peering into dark corners as her eyes tried to adjust to the dim light streaming in through dust caked stained glass windows. The Rat didn't say a word as Luke pressed past her, focusing on trying to sniff out the sniper before they could find her. It was like the games of hide and seek she had played as a child in abandoned farmsteads and shuttered houses. Spot the other person before they could find you so you could scurry away to a safer spot.
She looked toward the shorter boy at the whisper, looking down at the hand invading her privacy.
"Wrong place, wrong time to be trying to get luck fucker!" She hissed, knocking his hand away dismissively and looking at the pool of crimson.
"We hurt the bastard at least." She muttered, keeping a look out for more of the telltale liquid as Luke dipped his fingers like a child with paints. Her gaze fell on a shadow, a burst of movement from a previously unnoticed figure that sent two bullets at her faster than rifle or revolver should have been able to. The Rat froze in place as the rounds slammed into the wall, fumbling with her own firearm before being blindsided by another assailant. She hissed angrily as she was brought down, prepared to pull the pin from a grenade and blow the both of them to high hell when she realized just who had tackled her.
"Thanks." She muttered, rising to a crouch and taking position next to him.
"He's in the doorway, that way!" She sent a shot of her own at the shadowy form, trying to hit any part of the sniper she could.
"Doorway?" Luke muttered before peeking from his cover again before his snapped to the doorway of another room with a collapsed wall.
"I see the fucker," he confirmed with gritted teeth before ducking back down as he returned fire again, the shots more consisted than some rifle.
"Shit," Luke hissed before closing his eyes as he started to think of a plan. The bastard could shoot faster than them so it'll be more of a risk getting from cover to cover. Soon his hand drifted down to his grenade and he finally opened his eyes with determination.
"The bastards held up in that room and has a clear beat on us, so how about we flush em out?" he suggested holding up a grenade he'd stole from a dead Imp a few weeks back.
"We gotta get close enough so we don't fuck up somehow, so we're gonna have to work together to close the distance," he stated before peeking out of his cover.
"We'll take turns moving up, one person moves while the other keeps him pinned. Simple enough right?" he questioned with a small smirk.
"You go first, I'll cover you. On three you move like hell to the nearest bit of cover, I'll follow after," Luke sighed and let his finger rest on the trigger of the gun.
"1," his heart began to race again, beating faster than ever in his chest.
"2," flashes of his family back home ran through his mind before a steel like resolve came over him.
"3!" with a shout of defiance Luke popped out of his cover and fired a round towards their opponents cover, quickly loading the next round before firing again.
"Fuck you asshole!" he barked before ducking back into cover, not seeing Victoria get to her cover and silently hoping she went with his plan.
The Rat was sure that the sniper was using a normal weapon. Whatever it was shot too fast to be bolt or single action, firing shots so fast that she and Luke were outgunned by a single person. She was feeling more exposed than she liked, her height making the very top of her hat peek out from behind the heavy wooden pew she was hiding behind. As more bullets whizzed past the Oceanic tried to sink as low as she could to the ground, managing to sink a hair's breadth out of sight. Rushing forward and screaming like a banshee wasn't going to accomplish anything except making the sniper use up some of his ammo on her flailing body. They needed a real plan, Vicky turning to Luke with an expectant look. If he wanted to be a leader now was a good time to show his intelligence. Flushing the sniper out was a very good start, the Rat palming one of her own (properly issued) grenades and giving Luke a grin in return.
"Works for me. Let's give him something to think about." It was simple, but effective. Hopefully. Two of them against only one sniper, it would be easy. Right?
"Sending me first to test the waters I see. Fine." The Rat prepared her legs to run, drawing once again on the reserves of speed she had built up. She was crouched like a sprinter preparing to take off, hearing Luke count. Seconds ticked by, anticipation building up inside her like a bottle of champagne ready to launch a cork across the room. Luke fired and she took off with the bullet, boots slamming against the creaky wooden floor as another bullet passed her by. With a grunt the rage and adrenaline fueled killer threw herself into another bit of cover, a heavy desk that had been overturned sometime during the siege. Now it was Luke's turn, the Rat pulling the pin on one of her grenades. Two seconds seemed to drag on like fish trying to swim through molasses, the shocktrooper taking a brief moment to consider the fact that the currently ticking explosive in her hand could easily take her arm off. Before that could happen she tossed it overhead towards the sniper, the grenade bouncing with a heavy clunk. Nothing for another second...
And then another explosion, sending shards of wood and metal through the room and into thudding into her cover. If she was lucky the sniper had just been blown to pieces. If she wasn't, well then Luke had a window to move.
With a heavy breath Luke loaded a few more bullets into his rifle before peeking out to see that Victoria reached her cover. He gave a breath of relief before seeing her toss a grenade over her cover and ducked back into his cover, waiting for the blast. After counting the seconds the room was filled with a loud blast, some debris flying over his head and shaking the floor below him. A grin came to his face before glancing over to see it had just reached the edge of their attackers doorway, but his cover seemed to hold up. With a hiss of annoyance Luke took this moment to jump over his cover and dashed for a fallen pillar over some rubble. Just as he was about to reach his destination a few rapid shots filled the air and whizzed past him, sadly one grazing his arm and forcing a quick shout of anger before diving behind cover.
"Shit, that hurt you prick!" he barked in anger before looking at his arm. It was only just a graze, but it still stung like a bitch. With a growl of annoyance he peeked out of his cover and felt a bit of relief as he had made some good distance between his target. Scanning his enemies cover he noticed the collapsed wall made a decent enough hole into the room.
With a deep breath Luke pulled out his grenade and crawled to a better vantage position. Once he was in a good enough spot Luke felt his grip tighten around his grenade before pulling the pin and popping out with gritted teeth. He was greeted with several shots, but he managed to chuck the grenade away before ducking into cover. It seemed like luck was on his side as he peeked back out to see the grenade sore through the hole in the wall. A curse of surprise could be heard from their attacker before he spotted the figure scramble out of his room. He had managed to reach the doorway, but the blast had sent him tumbling forward. Not wanting to waste anytime Luke charged from his cover towards the fallen sniper as he had tried to recover. Just as Luke was a few steps away from him he raised his pistol, but with a snarl Luke used the butt of his rifle to knock the pistol out of his grip and slammed his boot into his jaw, sending him falling onto his back.
"Don't move fucker!" Luke barked in rage as he aimed his rifle at his head. The sniper groaned and seemed dazed by Luke's attack, but Luke had managed to noticed his arm was messed up, most likely broken. Luke chuckled as he looked down at him and glanced at Victoria.
"So, this is our little Sniper. I was expecting more."Vanquished by the uninspiring demeanor of the rifleman, the marksman let a gasp of air escape his bloody mouth, letting his arms linger on the cobbled floor he was backed against. Spoiled by the riches of this unfortunate encounter, Wilhelm attempted to sit up, but failing miserably without the support of both of his arms. There was no shame in defeat, not even when he was blindsided with past rage and fallen due to his own damnation. Instead, the Imperial let out a sigh of relief, as well as a sigh of disappointment. He looked to the side, where the pistol had been knocked out of his grip. It’s magazine was likely only containing a few more bullets, and he had no intention of trying to wriggle out of this one through violence.
“Bested? Perhaps I was too reckless this time…” He coughed, spluttering out the words as he gritted his teeth. Frail eyes fell upon his disfigured and out-of-shape arm, contorted into angles it shouldn’t have been. The shock was not yet wearing off and the pain was only a small fraction of what it would become later. Momentarily, he lay on his back and just let the man angel his rifle towards his head. Slowly he took his cameoed helmet off of his head, revealing more of his elder and worn out state. Blood stained his forehead from a cut or four, where pieces of brick and stone had bypassed the underside of his helmet and scraped just enough of the very skin on his scalp. As he spoke, his definitive Imperial accent distinguished him from the other.
“I understand the pride you must face, and I admire your ability back there. I don’t...admire your integrity though, Fed’. But...I’m not in a position to speak of such judgements.”Crouching behind her makeshift cover the Rat listened to Luke’s footsteps, waiting to see if the new barrage managed to bring him down. They didn’t but judging by his cursing he had gotten himself clipped. She wasn’t especially worried for the boy. If he had the presence of mind to shout at the enemy then his injury was likely just a flesh wound. She decided to let him have a little more fun, waiting in silence. The sound of shifting dust and refuse under someone’s body, yet more cracking of gunfire, another metallic thump and a panicked shout followed the roar of a second grenade. The Oceanic peeked out from behind the desk just in time to see her comrade knock their opponent to the ground. He was finished.
“Good shit Luke!” She vaulted over the wooden barrier and stomped up to the Edinburgh native and the Imperial fucker he had disarmed.
“Nice plan, glad I trusted you.” There wasn’t a hint of sarcasm in her voice, only warm, motherly affection that contrasted almost perversely with the ugly scars on her face and wrists, the chunk of her ear that was missing and the ugly grin she wore from the thrill of battle. The mother wrapped an arm around her surrogate son’s shoulders lovingly, hawking up a wad of phlegm and spitting it squarely into the sniper’s eye. But this scratched up and broken armed Imperial wasn’t just any sniper.
“Holy shit. This is the Fox!”They had managed to stumble on scourge of the Federation, knock his tower down and break his arm so he was completely at their mercy. A victory for sure, but one that was likely going to cost Marathon his life. Thomas Carter, Oceania’s greatest hero, dead at the hands of some piece of shit sniper. It was nothing more than dumb luck, a whim of the harshest mistress known to man. It could have been Luke getting blasted across the street, or Ines or Jean. Maybe Lady Luck was pissed that Thomas had managed to escape death so many times before, and now she had come to collect.
“For the most feared sniper in the war, you sure miss a lot. How many hits did you score? One? And you fired, what, a dozen bullets? A little underwhelming.”The Rat was trying to hide her rage behind a veneer of mockery, holding her rifle by the barrel over her shoulder as she stared down at the Fox with unfiltered hatred.
“Green Fox, what a stupid fucking name.” The butt of the carbine was lowered to just above the Fox’s face, the young mother pulling it back sharply and slamming it into the Imp’s teeth hard with a sickening crunch.
She had more in store, but first she wanted to gloat.
“Look at this.” She hissed, opening her bullet ventilated cape to reveal the Imperial flag she had taken off a dead officer.
“I snagged this off one of your comrades who choked to death in the gas. I’m going to take things from every single one of you I kill, and I’m going to kill a whole lot of you. I have no love for the Feds, but you Imperial cunts have pissed me off enough to build a fucking museum to house all the shit I take!”Unscrewing her bayonet and tossing the rifle behind her the Rat pounced, grabbing hold of the Fox’s face and carving at his nose and ears. She was going to make him a featureless monstrosity and break his trigger fingers, and she wanted him to feel it.
“Do what you want, just don’t kill him yet.” She instructed her boy, biting her lip in concentration as she carved up a fox.
The Fox almost growled in agony, as the blade cut into that body of him. He spat out in anguish, feeling the pain annihilate his interior mind. His face had been drenched in blood. With a broken arm and a broken spirit, he could not do anything to compensate for their brutality. Skewering his mind was only the pain, and yet now the adrenaline of his own upcoming demise forced him to ignore the agony they were putting him through.
“Then take i-it! Value my goods over the people…” He slowly began to curl a menacing grin upon the tip of his lips. With his free and fixed arm, he gently placed his palm against her arm, knowing full well his broken fingers could not muster the grip. Wilhelm’s eyes were bloodshot, burning in their agony.
“An eye for an eye, Fed’. Or...maybe I’ve taken more from you than you could ever from me!”He struggled to move, unable to force himself out of her constricting grip. The blade’s edge had mutilated something beyond humane measures. How Luke were to respond to the sheer brutality of a cursed woman were to be revealed, and yet the Fox just sat there, groaning and yelling out in pain as each tormenting battlement was made against his body. Humans were no longer going to find their way in the war, only the vast indecencies of monsters who prey only on those they deem unworthy. Spitting blood onto his own clothing, he mustered out the final phrase, knowing full well his fate was sealed.
“T-then burn us all! Burn us whilst your friend...oh...I recognize him. The one who lays still, outside...whilst you pursue inglorious charms! Ha! Shoot me then, and claim...your...prize.”Luke remained still, silent as Victoria dish out her own personal justice against the sniper. He would have joined her in her taunting and gloating of their fallen enemy, but he couldn’t help but lose his voice as she revealed their snipers identity.
“Green Fox?” he whispered to himself, not sure how to react. This was the mighty Green Fox? They really just took the bastard down? Several emotions flew through him; anger, shock, joy and even a bit of disappointment. This was him, the man who’s been a thorn in the Federations side. Luke only shook his head and took a step back, allowing Victoria to finish her work. An emotionless look remained on his face, feeling nothing from Victoria’s brutal justice. The old him would probably wince and look away, but now this seemed so… small. It was odd, even as she carved up his face. The world around felt still with a deadly silence lingering over him, though the only thing he could hear was Fox’s voice. Every word sticking with him before finally returning to his senses.
Quietly Luke placed his hand on Victoria’s shoulder and pulled her back before taking a step towards Fox, an emotionless gaze remaining on his face as he stared down at his crippled opponent. Without a word he let his eyes examine the man, taking in such a sad sight.
“Green Fox,” he muttered with a hint of disappointment. What should he do? He had thought up of so many scenarios if he would ever end up in this position, but everything seemed to go right out the window. Slowly he pressed the barrel of his rifle against his knee cap, stared into his eyes and pulled the trigger. A shot rang out within the church and a spray of blood coated his pants before he swiftly pressed his rifle against the next knee cap and pulled the trigger. He felt so numb to it all. Staring down at his victim with a cold and uncaring eyes Luke. Wasn’t there supposed to be more? There should have been more joy in this victory, pride or even a chill of excitement, but no. There was nothing.
“Is it supposed to be so boring?” Luke questioned aloud before raising his rifle towards Fox’s gut and letting another round fly through him.
“I wanted more,” he said before stepping over him and slamming his boot into his broken arm.
“This should have been so much more thrilling,” he complained before letting out a small sigh.
“I… I’m kinda disappointed,” he said before looking over to Victoria with a bored look.
“Maybe a few trophies will make me feel better,” he hoped before pressing his rifle against Fox’s head with a small frown.
“Green Fox,” he scoffed before letting out a small sigh.
“What a let down,” he said before preparing to pull the trigger, but he paused, arching a brow as a thought came to mind.
“Wait, I should probably save my bullets for something more worthwhile,” he said before laying his rifle aside and crouching over Fox. With the crack of fingers Luke wrapped his hands around Fox’s throat and used all of his strength to slowly strangle the fallen snipe.
Over the choking and squirming from below him Luke simply stared into his victims eyes, cold and uncaring. Luke grunted in frustration as Fox struggled, but nothing was going to change. This was how the man died. It felt odd though, this whole scene felt so familiar. As he tried to figure out this odd feeling a scene flashed within his mind, causing him to blink a few times and shake his head. What was that? For a brief moment Luke closed his eyes and felt his heart skip a beat as the memory of his mother strangling him as a child filled his mind. With a feral like snarl Luke tightened his grip around Fox’s throat and glared into his eyes, the flashes growing stronger and only pushing him harder to choke the last bit of life from the man below him.
“Get out of my head,” Luke growled, hoping that somehow choking this man would get rid of the memories.
Soon enough he began slamming the man’s head into the floor, grunting and growling like a mad animal.
“Get out!” he shrieked as the memories continued to fill his head even more, causing him to lose touch with himself for a moment before blacking out for a moment. Once he returned to his senses Luke was staring down at a cold and unmoving corpse, his hands still tightened around the dead man’s throat with a pool of blood under his beaten in head. With a racing heart and heavy breath Luke sucked in as much air as he could into his empty lungs. Finally he released his grip from the dead man and sighed, sitting atop of the corpse before clearing his throat and tearing Fox’s dog tags from his bruised neck. With a groan he pushed himself up and snatched his rifle before glancing over to Fox’s pistol, a bit of interest in the weapon before shambling his exhausted body over and scooping it up.
Silently he stared at the new looking pistol within his hand before looking up towards the ruined alter within the church. Behind the alter his tired eyes spotted what looked like the dark shadow of a smiling woman staring directly at him. He knew what it was supposed to be, but he was too numb to care. Clearing his throat Luke turned towards Victoria and walked past her without eye contact.
“Come on, let’s go meet with the others,” he muttered with a dry tone. He was definitely going to need a drink tonight.
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